See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/283523365

Applied Statistical Design of Experiments: Applications in Natural Sciences

Article · January 2015

DOI: 10.4172/2161-0398.1000e129

CITATIONS READS

3 612

1 author:

Ijaz A. Rauf
York University
44 PUBLICATIONS   340 CITATIONS   

SEE PROFILE

Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects:

Quantum Dot Based Nano-Sensors for Point of Care Diagnostics View project

All content following this page was uploaded by Ijaz A. Rauf on 18 November 2015.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.


Physical Chemistry & Biophysics
Editorial
Research Article
Applied Statistical Design of Experiments: Applications in Natural Sciences
Ijaz A Rauf*
Department of Physics and Astronomy, 128 Petrie Science and Engineering Building, York University, 4700 Keele Street, Toronto, Ontario, M3J 1P3, Canada
Experiments are performed today in many scientific and engineering
research fields to increase our understanding and knowledge of various
scientific principles and processes. These experiments are often
conducted in a series of trials or tests, which produce quantifiable
outcomes. The quantitative as well as qualitative outcomes of these
tests or trials are measured using scientific instruments as well as
measurement equipment.
The most common approach to experimentation employed by
many scientists today is One-Variable-At-a-Time (OVAT), where one
variable is changed at a time keeping all other variables in the experiment
fixed (or constant) and the change in the resulting outcome is observed.
Quantifiable outcomes of the experiments are often measured using
scientific instruments/ equipment like mass spectroscopy, atomic force
microscopy, or electron microscopy. The changes or variation observed
in the outcome of an experiment may stem from two sources: a) A
direct consequence of the intentional change in the input variable since
the outcome variable is correlated to the changing input variable and/
or b) error or variation in the measurement system.
The performance of an instrument or measurement equipment
is influenced by several factors including natural variation of the
instrument/equipment and the human factor. When dealing with
science, materials and devices on a nanoscale and operating the
measurement equipment near or at the performance limit, it becomes
critically important that all sources of variability are properly quantified
to draw correct logical conclusions.
When several variables influence a certain characteristic of a
process or principle, the best strategy is then to design an experiment
so that valid, reliable and sound conclusions can be drawn effectively,
efficiently and economically. Statistical Design of Experiments (SDoE)
is a methodology where multiple variables can be changed and tested in
parallel and the impact of each variable can be quantified independent
of other variables using quantitative statistical tools.
Inferential statistical analysis of experimental data plays a pivotal
role in transforming the observed data into critical information for the
advancement of underlying science and accelerated achievement of the
research goals in the field of interest. The recent drastic funding cuts for
basic research as a result of global recession have initiated a discussion
among the academics and the research community to develop and
utilize methodologies for faster advancement of systems knowledge at
minimal costs [1-3].
Sir Ronald Fisher laid the foundation for statistical design of
experiments in 1920’s. Since then it had remained a mathematical
and statistical curiosity till the Second World War. With the start of
Second World War and increasing demand for the speed and efficiency
in manufacturing of weapons, many of the statistical tools originally
developed by Fisher started to take the center-stage in manufacturing
as well as with mathematicians and statisticians for the development of
advanced tools that could be applied in real world.
The use of statistical tools and SDoE methods in the industry was
promoted in the 1950s by the extensive work of Box, Juran, Schewhart
and Deming and their collaborators on response surface designs,
measurement systems analysis, and statistical process control. Over the
J Phys Chem Biophys
ISSN: 2161-0398 JPCB, an open access journal
Rauf, J Phys Chem Biophys 2015, 5:5
http://dx.doi.org/10.4172/2161-0398.1000e129
OpenAccess
Open Access
past 15 years, there has been a tremendous increase in the application
of SDoE techniques in the industry having had revolutionary impact
on manufacturing and industrial R & D. Today, DOE is used in a wide
range of applications from agriculture [4,5], the space program [6],
bench top [7,8] and scale-up [9,10] synthetic chemistry, environmental
science [11,12], biology [13], genetics [14], catalysis [15], engineering
[16,17], and pharmaceuticals [10,18-20].
However, many of these methodologies and applied statistical
tools are not well known among academic scientists. In fact none of
the Major Universities offer any courses on Applied SDoE targeting
researchers performing fundamental scientific research in any area of
physics, chemistry, or materials science.
Simple example of a linear relationship between an input variable
and an outcome is given by the following equation:
y = ax + b + ε, where a and b are constants and e represents the
error (1)
If an experimenter wants to study this relationship and has
resources to perform only 4 experiments, a scientist would choose to
make one measurement at four levels spanning the region of interest.
This does not allow the quantification of the error at each of the points
and does not establish if the changes observed are due to changes in
the experimental variables or caused by the measurement error (or
variation).
The statistical design of experiments data when analysed using
statistical tools produces two set of models; the structural model and
the error model. The relationship between the output (or dependent)
variable ‘y’ and input (or independent) variables ‘z’ especially when y is
dependent on more than one variables can be expressed as:
y =(z1,z2,z3,…..zn) + ε (2)
Where f is an unknown function, which may be very complicated,
and ε represents other non-systematic sources of variability not
accounted for in function f , such as measurement error. The goal is
to approximate f by a relatively simple analytical function on the basis
of experimental data. The variables z1, z2 …. zn are natural variable (for
example, time and temperature in a synthesis experiment) that are
measured in units used in the experiments (for example, seconds for
time etc.).
In an experimental design the natural variables are converted into
*Corresponding author: Ijaz A. Rauf, Department of Physics and Astronomy,
128 Petrie Science and Engineering Building, York University, 4700 Keele
Street, Toronto, Ontario, M3J 1P3, Canada, E-mail: iarauf@yorku.ca
Received: September 29, 2015; Accepted: October 02, 2015; Published:
October 05, 2015
Citation: Rauf IA (2015) Applied Statistical Design of Experiments: Applications in
Natural Sciences. J Phys Chem Biophys 5: e129. doi: 10.4172/2161-0398.1000e129
Copyright: © 2015 Rauf IA. This is an open-access article distributed under the
terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted
use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and
source are credited.
Volume 5 • Issue 5 • 1000e129
Citation: Rauf IA (2015) Applied Statistical Design of Experiments: Applications in Natural Sciences. J Phys Chem Biophys 5: e129. doi: 10.4172/2161-
0398.1000e129

Page 2 of 2

dimensionless coded variables x1, x2, … xn on a scale of -1 (the lowest References

value) to +1 (the highest value) as follows: 1. Maathuis MH, Colombo D, Kalisch M, Buhlmann P (2010) Predicting causal effects
in large-scale systems from observational data. Nat Methods 7: 247-248.
zi − ( z+1 + z−1 ) / 2 (3)
xn = 2. Waltz D, Buchanan BG (2009) Computer science. Automating science. Science
( z+1 − z−1 ) / 2 324: 43-44.

This converts all variables to a common scale and allows evaluation 3. Blow N (2009) High-throughput screening: designer screens. Nat Methods 6:
105-108.
of the impact of each variable and its interaction on the outcome
independent of its measurement units. The simplest model of the 4. Zhang Y, Li X, Yuan Z, Lu Y (2002) Orthogonal array design experiments
response surface can be approximated by multiple linear regression for optimizing the separation of nine pesticides by micellar electrokinetic
chromatography. Microchem J 73: 307-315.
with k input variables as follows:
n
5. He Y, Kee Lee H (1998) Orthogonal array design experiments for optimizing the
β 0 + ∑β j x j + ε
y= (4)
separation of various pesticides by cyclodextrin-modified micellar electrokinetic
chromatography. J Chromatogr A 793: 331-340.
j =1
6. Kounaves SP, Lukow SR, Comeau BP, Hecht MH, Grannan-Feldman SM,
Where the linear regression coefficients, βj, are estimated from et al. (2003) Mars Surveyor Program ’01 Mars Environmental Compatibility
the experimental data through model fitting. When the change in the Assessment wet chemistry lab: A sensor array for chemical analysis of the
output variable due to a change in an input variable xj depends on the Martian soil. J Geophys Res [Planets] 108: 5077.
values of other variables, this can be expressed by as: 7. Evans MD, Ring J, Schoen A, Bell A, Edwards P, et al. (2003) The accelerated
n n i −1 development of an optimized synthesis of 1,2,4-oxadiazoles: application of
β 0 + ∑β j x j + ∑∑βij xi x j + ε
y= (5) microwave irradiation and statistical design of experiments. Tetrahedron Lett
44: 9337-9341.
=j 1 =i 2=j 1
8. Basumallick A, Das GC, Mukherjee S (2003) Design of experiments for
Here the term βijxixj represents the statistical interaction between synthesizing in situ Ni–SiO2 and Co–SiO2 nanocomposites by non-isothermal
variable xi and xj. Both equations (4) and (5) are linear terms and thus reduction treatment. Nanotechnology 14: 903-906.
represent the first order model. The relationship between variables 9. Cunningham ER, Myers D, Wong D, Bork C, Conley LE (2004) Abstracts of
may not always be linear and a more complex model may need to be Papers, 227th ACS National Meeting, Anaheim, CA, USA.
developed. If a strong quadratic relationship is expected this can be 10. Billot P, Pitard B (1992) Taguchi design experiments for optimizing the gas
expressed as a 2nd order model: chromatographic analysis of residual solvents in bulk pharmaceuticals. J
n n i −1 n
Chromatogr A 623: 305-313.
β 0 + ∑β j x j + ∑∑βij xi x j + ∑β jj x 2j + ε
y= (6) 11. Langoy MA, Stock SR (2001) Fatigue-crack growth in Ti-6Al-4V-0.1Ru in air
=j 1 =i 2=j 1 =j 1 and seawater: Part II. crack path and microstructure. Metall Mater Trans A
32A: 2315-2324.
Parameters β are often estimated from experimental data using 12. Annadurai G (2002) Adsorption of Basic Dye on Strongly Chelating Polymer:
computation software designed for this purpose and are donated by Batch Kinetics Studies, Iranian Polymer Journal 11: 238-244.
β̂ , the values predicted by (4) for yi based on the input variables of xi1, 13. Srinivasan M, Natarajan K, Nagarajan G (2003) Growth optimization of an
xi2 … xin is given as: ectomycorrhizal fungus with respect to pH and temperature in vitro using
n
Design of Experiments. Bioprocess Eng 22: 267-273.

βˆ0 + ∑βˆ j xij + ε

yˆi =
j =1
The difference between observed and predicted value is called
residual and is useful in making inferences about the adequacy of the
model. The residuals are calculated as:
(7) 14. Wrobel G, Schlingemann J, Hummerich L, Kramer H, Lichter P, et al.
(2003) Optimization of high-density cDNA-microarray protocols by 'design of
experiments'. Nucleic Acids Res 31: e67.
15. Annadurai G, Sivakumar T, Rajesh Babu S (2000) Photocatalytic decolorization
of congo red over ZnO powder using Box–Behnken design of experiments.
Bioprocess Eng 23: 167-173.

ˆ yi − yˆi
ε=
In summary, statistical design of experiments and its analytical
tools have an application niche in academic and scientific research and
thus scientists should be trained in these concepts and take advantage
of its application for faster advancement of science at the lowest cost. In
contrast to OVAT approach SDoE addresses the issues of interactions of
variable and can also quantitatively address the confounding problems.
SDoE approach thus may reveal previously unknown scientific facts
about a scientific process or principle.
(8) 16. Malaisamy R, Annadurai G, Mohan D (2000) Performance optimization of
polysulfone ultrafiltration membranes for riboflavin separation using design
experiments. Bioprocess Eng 22: 227-232.
17. Raadnui S (2003) Palm oil-based grease blending: utilization of the statistical
design of experiments (DOE). Int J Appl Mech Eng 8: 93-96.
18. Tye H (2004) Application of statistical 'design of experiments' methods in drug
discovery. Drug Discov Today 9: 485-491.
19. Mills JE (2004) Design of experiments in pharmaceutical process research and
development. ACS Symp Ser 870: 87-109.
20. Harwood RJ, Molnar SA (1998) Using design of experiments (DOE) techniques
to avoid process problems. Pharm Dev Technol 3: 571-575.

Citation: Rauf IA (2015) Applied Statistical Design of Experiments:

Applications in Natural Sciences. J Phys Chem Biophys 5: e129. doi:
10.4172/2161-0398.1000e129

J Phys Chem Biophys

ISSN: 2161-0398 JPCB, an open access journal Volume 5 • Issue 5 • 1000e129

View publication stats